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Q: which foreign songs are popular in china?
my students seem to know a few but most people ive met can only name a Michael Jackson hit
11 years 19 weeks ago in Arts & Entertainment - China
John Denver, Karen Carpenter & Lady Gaga are big on the local jukeboxes.
psy, gangnam style. The Eagles. I've heard some songs in Chinese. I had a beer with a woman from Shanghai and she bet me the next song would be Hotel California, she won.
I want nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody but you.
Michael Learns to Rock. Some little Danish band who had this cheesy lame song called Take Me To Your Heart...it was absolutely mammoth in China for reasons I will never understand.
It kind of sums up the Chinese psyche for me that they are taken in by some of the most tedious dross imaginable in western music such as Yesterday Once More, Hotel California, Country Roads, Take Me To Your Heart, I'm a Big, Big Girl.......
I guess one of the main criteria for the popularity is they have to be relatively slow in the rhythm and quite simple lyrics thus making them easier to learn and mimic for the English learners.
Sometimes, I think the power drill in next door's apartment at 4:00 am is an improvement.
Kpop seems to be the biggest non Chinese musical influence at the moment.
I've tried to introduce some Chinese friends to classic rock (Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd etc) with mixed success, the 'rock' music part is rarely to most Chinese students tastes, although many like the slower ballads.
goomba:
Rock music is historically rebellious. This is definitely discouraged in this culture. I have tried to introduce some of my favorite rock bands to my friends and coworkers with no success.
Backstreet boys:as long as you love me
Michael jackson:you are not alone,will you be there,we are the world , beat it
Westlife:My love,seasons in the sun,you raise me up ,soledad
Michael learns to rock:Take me to your heart
Avril:girlfriend
I personally like Westlife,especially Soleded.I am obsessed with that song lol
They like Backstreet Boys.Akon.Eminem.Lady GaGa.PSY and all those type of things
Whenever I get suckered into going to KTV with friends, they will always ask me to sing some English song. After I refuse, then they will pick something for me. These are their most common picks:
Michael Jackson - Beat It
Justin Bieber - Baby
Take Me To Your Heart - (Singer listed above...never heard of 'em)
God is a Girl - (Some girl sings the song, never heard of them either)
We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Auld Lang Syne, Silent Night and a few of the other Christmas carols, albeit in a somewhat transformed version.
Yes...most of their music taste is retarded to say the least...
One student surprised me recently as he comes to class wearing KISS and Guns'n'Roses shirts...He even talked to me about Megadeth!!! Ahahah, that is a BIG improvement.
I myself grew up with metal (thrash, death and so on)...then industrial and electronic music...so I am not into POP...Beijing and Shanghai have all kinds of scenes...even black metal....if you know what I'm talking about...
I did try to play some music in the class last year...and tell them the difference between mainstream and underground...they don't get it...played them metal, hip hop, grunge, punk, electronic...hahaha what a trip :DDD. From Nirvana to Sex Pistols to Sepultura through Kraftwerk and Psycho Realm...I'm sure they had nightmares.
The problem with Chinese people is they can't handle art or music or movies that aren't cheesy and 'positive'. And that is very weird...I mean half of em wear friggin' Mickey Mouse, Sponge Bob and Angry Birds t-shirts for fecksake...what do you expect them to listen to? 
oppa Gangnan Style..Interesting,but I don't know why so popular in the world.
oppa Gangnan Style..Interesting,but I don't know why so popular in the world.
stan118:
well all my friends back at home like the song and arent really interest in the dance, in china people seem to love the dance
sarahxing2012:
Honestly,Psy is a intelligent singer in Korea.I learnt some Korean by myself,years ago,I also listened a song from him,called Right Now,I like it.
Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Adele,Westlife, Linken Park,Backstreet boys,Michael Learns To Rock(most Chinese are familiar with two songs of them,<<take me to your heart>> and <<Fairy Tale>>,which are covered from Chinese versions.)
